Fibrous straw breaking and scutching machine



Sept. l5, 1942. M. c. WIDGER FIBROUS STRAW BREAKING'AND SCU TCHING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet l www.

if i hij Sept. 15, 1942. M. c. WIDGER 2,295,766

FIBROUS STRAW BREAKING AND SCUTCHING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 15, 1942. M. c. wlDGER 2,295,766

FIBROUS STRAW BREAKING AND SCUTCHING MACHINE Harri/e36.

Sept. l5, 1942. M. c. w|DGER 2.295,766

FIBROUS STRAW BREAKING AND SCUTCHING MACHINE Filed April 29. 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 15, 1942. M. c. WIDGER 2,295,766

FIBROUS STRA'W BREAKING AND SCUTCHING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 15, 1942 FIBROUS STRAW BREAKING AND SCUTCH-V ING MACHINE Max Crocker Widger, Corvallis, Oreg.; dedicated to the free use of the People in the of the United States Territory Application April 29, 1941, Serial No. 390,958

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 2 Claims.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

I hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States to take effect on the granting of a patent to me.

This invention relates to machines for removing the woody portion of flax or other fibrous straw plants of a similar character from the fiber.

The present invention has for an object the provision of a machine which will separate the fiber from the woody portion of the fibrous straw plant efficiently and without injury to the ber. Another object of this invention is the provision of means for cleaning the fiber with a minimum of tow.

The following description, together with the accompanying drawings, will disclose this invention more fully, its construction and operation of parts and further objects and advantages thereof will be apparent.

In the drawings, which illustrates an embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view, partly in section;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section;

Figure 3 is a plan View, partly in outline;

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Fig-ure 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a section along the line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring with more particularity to the drawings in which like numerals designate like parts, the embodiment illustrated is carried by a suitable frame structure, on which is mounted a stationary horizontal shaft II in bearings I2, I3, and I4. On the shaft II there are rotatably mounted two rotary assemblies I5 and I 6, respectively, hereinafter referred to as rotors. These rotors are rotated in opposite directions, the

rotor I5 being rotated counter-clockwise, as viewed in Figure 1, and the rotor I 6 being rotated in a clockwise direction. The rotor I 5 consists of a pair of spaced discs I1 and I8 secured to a hub I9, which hub is rotatable on the shaft 55 II. Across the discs I1 and I8 a plurality of groups of bars 20 are secured adjacent the periphery of the discs. These bars act to beat the fiber straw after being crimped, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. Between the discs I1 and I8 there is also mounted, forward of each group of bars, a crimping roller 2| on a shaft 22 xed to the roller, said shaft 22 being rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 23 and 24 in the discs I1 and I8, respectively. On one side, the teeth or flutes 25 of the crimping rollers 2I project beyond the peripheries of the discs I1 and I8.

The rotor I6 is provided with bars 26 similar to the bars 20 and with similar crimping rollers 21, having teeth or ilutes 28, on shafts 29 rotatable in bearings 30 and 3| of spaced discs 32 and 33.

Adjacent that side of the rotor I5, which, in normal operation, moves downward, arcuated segments 34 are disposed on a xed frame member 35. The segments 34 are placed from the rollers ZI, and the teeth 36 of said segments, which are on the concave side thereof, mesh with the spaces between the teeth 25 of the crimping rollers 2| without contact so that fiber straw placed between the teeth 36 and the teeth 25 become crimped without rupture. To maintain the teeth 25 0f the rollers 2| in this relation with respect to the teeth 36, the shafts 22 of the crimping rollers 2| are extended through their respective bearings 23 in the disc I1 and are each secured to a pinion gear 31. A gear 38 is` Xed t0 the Stationary shaft II and is connected to each of the gears 31 by an idling gear 39, each meshing with the gear 38 and one of the gears 31. The idling gears are rotatably mounted on shafts 40 projecting from the disc I1. The segments 34 are provided at the middle with radial slots 4I and are mounted on pins 42 which engage said slots, said pins being xed to the frame of the machine. This permits a degree of adjustability with respect to the rotor I 5. The segments 34 are held in adjusted position by means of bolts 43 pivotally engaging the ends of each segment, passing through abutment brackets 44, and having adjusting nuts 45. The bolts 43 are each provided with an abutment 46 and a spring 41 is compressibly mounted between said abutment and the bracket 44. By changing the position of the nuts 45, the segments 34 can be radially adjusted with respect to the crimping rollers 2|. The springs also serve to cushion the crimping operation.

Similarly, the shafts 23 of the crimping rollers 21 of the rotor I6 extend through bearings 3| of disc 33 to receive pinion gears 48 geared to a stationary gear 49 on the shaft II by means of idling gears 50. Also arcuated segments 5|, similar to the segments 34, and having teeth 52, are mounted on a frame member 53, adjacent the rotor I6 and crimping rollers 21, but on the side of the machine opposite the segments 34, by means of slots 54, pins 55, bolts 56, brackets 51, abutments 58, springs 59, and adjustable nuts 60 similar to those associated with the segments 34.

The gears 31, 38, and 39, projecting outwardly from the disc I1, are provided with a housing shield in the form of a drum 6I secured to the disc I1. The periphery of the drum 6I is provided with one or more turns of a conveyor screw fin 62 which is adapted to engage the liber straw and move it into the machine between the rotor I5 and the teeth 36. On the rotor I6, a similar drum 63 is attached to the disc 32 and it is also provided with one or more turns of a conveyor screw fin 64 for conveying the straw through the machine between the rotor I6 and the teeth 52 after it leaves the rotor I5. The gears 48, 49, and 50, of the rotor I6 projecting from the disc 33 are provided with a drum housing 65. The rim of this drum is smooth and the straw simply slides over it as it leaves the machine.

The rotor I5 is provided with comb-cleaning units attached to the outer side of the disc I8. These units operate through a drum 66 fixed to the disc I8 and having substantially the same diameter. This drum is provided with a number of axial slots 61, through each of which a combing unit 68 projects in normal operation. The inner ends of the combing units each swing on a pin 69 fixed to the disc I8. The slots 61 are wide enough to permit the combing units to swing about their respective pins to a retracted position within the drum 66 and to permit them to swing out through the slot by centrifugal force and abut the leading edge 10 of each slot in a position short of being radial. In the retracted position, the combing units 69 abut pins 1| fixed to the disc I8.

Along the quadrant where the combing units normally contact the fiber straw, a stationary shield 12 is fixed to the frame of the machine with a small amount of clearance between the shield and the ends of the combing units when these units are in their extreme protracted position.

A powered shaft 13 is rotatably mounted on the frame of the machine parallel to the shaft II. A sprocket 14 is fixed to the rotor I5 and a sprocket 15, aligned with the sprocket 14, is fixed to shaft 13, said sprockets being connected by a chain 16. Another shaft 11 is mounted adjacent and parallel to the shaft 13 and carries a sprocket 18 aligned with a sprocket 19 fixed to rotor I6, these sprockets being connected by a chain 80. The shaft 11 is powered from the shaft 13, but in an opposite direction by means of meshing gears 8| and 82 fixed to the shafts 13 and 11, respectively.

On top of the machine there is disposed a system of belts and pulleys for conveying the straw over the rotors. This system is built around a. roller 83 extending transversely from one side of the machine to the other on a shaft 84, rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 85 and 86, and disposed between the rotors I5 and I6 adjacent the vertical plane of the disc I8. Adjacent the other end of the rotor I5, that is, on the intake side of the machine. a table 81 is provided on which the fiber straw is placed and prepared for delivery into the machine. Beneath this table, structural members 88 are secured, each having a horizontal slot 89, in which slots the ends of a shaft 90 of a pulley 9| are rotatably mounted. The shaft 90 is threaded on the ends and provided with nuts 92 for adjusting the position of the shaft 90 in the slots 89. The pulley 9| carries two spaced belts k93, which belts also travel over and around the roller 83 and return to the pulley 9|. The pulley 9| projects upward through an opening 94 in the table 81. The arrangement is such that the belts 93 are vertically over the rotor I5 on the side of the rotor opposite the one associated with the segments 34.

In contact with the upper sides of the belts 93, there are disposed two tandem pulleys 95 and 96 between the pulley 9| and the roller 83. The pulley 95 is near the pulley 9| and of about the same diameter, and the pulley 96 is near the roller 83 and is relatively large in diameter. On the other side of the roller 83, another pulley 91, like the pulley 95, is disposed. The pulleys 95, 96, and 91 are all mounted on a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal structural frame members 98. The shaft 99 of the pulley 91 is disposed in vertical slots |00 of the structural members 98 to permit vertical adjustment and is held in position by means of nuts |02 threaded on the ends of the shaft. The pulley 95 is provided with horizontal and vertical adjusting means comprising T- brackets |03 with laterally extending pins |04 slidably disposed in horizontal slots |05 of the structural members 98 and a vertical bearing slot |01 in each of the brackets |03 for the ends of the shaft |08 of the pulley 95. The shaft |08 and the pins |04 are threaded at the ends to receive nuts |09 and I I0, respectively, to hold `them in position in their respective slots. A belt III circuits the pulleys 95, 96, and 91 and extends from the bottom of the pulley 95 between the belts 93 to the bottom of the pulley 96, thence over the roller 83 under the pulley 91, thence, reversing direction, over the pulley 91, around the top of the pulley 96 and returning to the pulley 95. This unit is for gripping the flax and conveying one end through the rotor I5 and over the roller 83. A second unit is provided with respect to the rotor I6 to receive the straw as it is conveyed over the roller 83, to grip it and convey the other end of the straw through the rotor I6. This second unit comprises a pulley II2 adjacent the roller 83 over the rotor I6 on the side opposite the segments 5|. The pulley II2 is rotatably mounted between horizontal frame members I I3. Between the forward ends of the frame members II3, another pulley |I4 is rotatably mounted. Between the pulleys I I2 and I I4, the pulley I I5 is rotatably mounted on a structural member II6, substantially as illustrated. A belt I I1 travels around the pulley II2 over the pulley I I5, around the pulley I I4 and thence back to the pulley I I2. A pair of spaced belts |I8 travel from the the roller 83 beneath the pulley I|2 to the pulley II5, where they straddle the lower side of the belt II1, and thence travel around the pulley II5 and back to the roller 83.

All of the belts `are preferably of the V-type and, in the usual manner, appropriate groovings are provided in the pulleys supporting them to prevent slippage.

Power is applied from a motor (not shown) to a pulley I I9 fixed to shaft 13 to drive both rotors I5 and I6. A pulley |20 is fixed` to shaft 13 and geared to pulley I2| on the high speed side of a speed reducer |22 by means of a belt |23. The take-off of the speed reducer is provided with a pulley |24 which is geared, by means of a belt |25 to a pulley |26 fixed to the shaft 84 of the roller 83 In operation, the straw is prepared in a thin layer on the table 81 and is fed to the machine so that it is gripped near the root ends between belts I II and 93, which belts carry the straw forward with the seed or tip ends on the same side of the machine as the segments 34. As the straw is carried forward, the seed ends engage the screw n 62, which carries them over the rotor I between the segments 34 and the crimping rollers 2|. Moving forward, the straw is alternately crimped by the rollers 2| and straightened by the beaters 20. Due to the circular path through which the straw moves as it is conveyed from the pulley 96 to the roller 83, the fiber straw is crimped at different points upon successive engagement with the crimping rollers 2 I. This results in a thorough scutching of the seed ends of the ber straw.

After the straw passes from the space between the crimping rollers 2| and the segments 34, it then passes between the shield I2 and drum 66 where it is engaged by combing units 68. These units comb out any remaining shives and straighten the fiber before proceeding to the rotor I6.

The straw then passes over the roller 83 where the root ends are released at the point where the belts III and 93 part, and the seed ends which have now been completely scutched are gripped between the belts I I 8 and I I1. The root ends then drop on the conveyor n 64 which leads them over the rotor I6 between the segments 5| and the crimping rollers 21 while the scutched ends are being conveyed forward between and by the belts I I8 and III. On the rotor I6, the root ends of the liber straw receive the same treatment as the seed ends in the rotor I5 and in substantially the same manner except that combing units, like those in the rotor I5, are not provided. On leaving the rotor I6, the fiber slides off the arm and is conveyed over the pulley I I5, where it is released at the point of separation of the belts I 8 and I I 'I, and is then collected for further processing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A machine of the character described comprising a rotor having fluted rollers rotatably mounted near the periphery, a uted arc disposed adjacent the periphery of said rotor to mesh with the spaces between the flutes of said rollers, means for Conveying the ends of ber straw over the periphery of said rotor between said arc and said rollers, bars fixed to said rotor on the periphery thereof between said rollers, and a plurality of combing units hinged to said rotor to engage the ber which has passed said rollers.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a first rotor and a second rotor, each having lluted rollers rotatably mounted near the periphery thereof and a iluted arc disposed adjacent the periphery of each rotor to mesh with the spaces between the flutes of said rollers, bars fixed to each of said rotors on the peripheries thereof between the rollers, a plurality of combing units hinged to said nrst rotor to engage the ber straw which passes thereover, means associated with the rst rotor for gripping one end of the fiber straw and conveying it so that the other end passes between the periphery of the first rotor and its adjacent arc, and means associated with the second rotor for gripping the other end of the liber straw as it leaves said combing units and conveying it so that the opposite end passes between the periphery of the second rotor and its adjacent arc.

MAX CROCKER WIDGER. 

